Colombia’s Santos calls on ELN rebels to declare ceasefire
BOGOTA (Reuters) – President Juan Manuel Santos called on Monday for the smaller of Colombia’s two leftist rebel groups, the ELN, to join the larger FARC guerrillas in declaring a unilateral ceasefire as peace talks advance to end a 50 year war.
U.N. wants fewer but better performing troops in Congo
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommends in a report reducing the number of peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of the Congo by nearly 10 percent while making it more effective when it comes to protecting civilians from …
German anti-Muslim protesters rally despite Merkel plea
DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) – Protesters marched in several German cities on Monday against higher levels of immigration and what they see as the growing influence of Islam, in defiance of an appeal from Chancellor Angela Merkel to spurn rallies she vie…
Smaller NATO mission has big job to train Afghan army in time
TACTICAL BASE GAMBERI, Afghanistan (Reuters) – U.S. Army Major Eric Lightfoot, serving at a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan, knows NATO has its work cut out to prepare local forces to go it alone against Taliban insurgents once its training missi…
Abbas rolls statehood dice with International Criminal Court move
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – For someone nearing 80, President Mahmoud Abbas still knows how to shake things up. But his decision last week to join the International Criminal Court is a high-risk move that may set back the ultimate goal: an independent Palest…
Kremlin critic cuts monitor tag, won’t comply with house arrest
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Monday he would no longer comply with the terms of his house arrest and had cut off his monitoring tag.
U.S. troops training Iraqi military at bases in Anbar, Taji
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. troops have started training Iraqi military forces at two bases in Iraq as they work to build a force that can take the offensive against Islamic State militants who overran part of the country last year, the Pentagon said o…
Turkish soldier held in Syria is brought home: PM
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish intelligence has brought home a soldier who had been held in neighboring Syria after he chased smugglers across the border, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday.
Libyan warplane bombs Greek-operated oil tanker at port, two dead
BENGHAZI, Libya/ATHENS (Reuters) – A Libyan warplane from forces loyal to the internationally recognized government bombed a Greek-operated oil tanker anchored off the coast, killing two crewmen in an escalation of hostilities between factions vying to…
Indonesia naval captain says may have located missing plane’s tail section
PANGKALAN BUN/JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) – An Indonesian naval patrol vessel has found what could be the tail of a crashed AirAsia passenger jet, the section where the crucial black box voice and flight data recorders are located, officials said on M…
